# South American Championship 1959 (Argentina)

> The continental championship held in Buenos Aires in 1959, where Pelé was top scorer with eight goals and named best player.

Source page: https://pele.wiki/footballer/tournaments/1959-south-american-championship
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1959_South_American_Championship_(Argentina)

- Year: 1959
- Result: Runners-up
- His matches: 6
- His goals: 8

The 1959 South American Championship, the forerunner of the Copa América, was played in Buenos Aires from 7 March to 4 April. Seven teams played each other once.

Brazil went through the tournament unbeaten but finished second to Argentina on points. Pelé, then 18, scored eight goals in six matches, including a hat-trick against Paraguay. He was the tournament's top scorer and was named its best player.

It was his only appearance in the competition. (Wikipedia's list of his international goals gives the figure as six appearances and eight goals in its table, although its introduction states the numbers differently.)

All the matches were played at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Colombia and Ecuador withdrew, leaving Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia. A second South American Championship was held in Ecuador later the same year.

His eight goals came in five of Brazil's six matches. He was 18, had already won a World Cup, and was scoring prolifically for Santos at the same time.

Brazil drew 2–2 with Peru, beat Chile 3–0, Bolivia 4–2, Uruguay 3–1 and Paraguay 4–1, and drew 1–1 with Argentina in the last match. Pelé scored in every game except the win over Uruguay. A win over Argentina would have given Brazil the title; Pelé's equaliser was not enough.

## Related

- The country it was held in: [Argentina](https://pele.wiki/footballer/locations/argentina-country)
- The team he played for in it: [Brazil](https://pele.wiki/footballer/teams/brazil)
- The chapters it appears in: [The peak years at Santos (1959–1965)](https://pele.wiki/footballer/chapters/the-peak-years-at-santos)
- The honours it brought: [South American Championship best player and top scorer, 1959](https://pele.wiki/footballer/honours/south-american-championship-best-player-1959)